Submitting an Article

Step #1 - Login

Make sure you are Logged Into the website.  On the left hand side of the webpage, in the Login section, you should see a message, something like "Hi <insert your name here>", and a Log Out button.

If you do not see these, you will see instead Username, Password, and Remember Me boxes, and a Log In button.  Enter your Username and Password - if you click the Remember Me box, it will automatically enter this information anytime you visit the website.

Step #2 - Adding The Article into the Editor Section

A new window with three sections will come up - the Editor section, the Publisher section, and the Metadata section.  The Editor Section is the section of the Article Submission process that contains the actual Title and Content of the Article.

1. Enter the Title of the Article - ie: September is Arthritis Awareness Month

2. In the main box, put the main text of the article.

Some Tips:

1. Try to use only Bold, Italic, and Underlining when inserting your text.  Because the Joomla! Content Management System underlying the website uses stylesheets and templating, any other changes to the text may throw off the Article's appearance if either the stylesheet or tempalte are changed.

2. You may want to type your article into a text editor or into MS Word.  Instead of editing the Article in the Submit an Article window, you can simply select the Paste from Word if you have typed the Article in MS Word, or Paste as Plain Text if you use another text editor.  Writing the Article in MS Word or another text editor will allow you the freedom to complete the article at your pace, as after a set period of time, your login session to the website will "time out", and you will lose any work you have not completed.

3. If you are unsure of what a Toolbar Button does (ie: Insert non-breaking space character button) simply do not use it.  As each article must be approved by a website Administrator prior to being "published" to the website, these Administrators will insert Read More tags, tidy up any formatting, and if neccesary, run ther article through the Google Translator, as the website can display either English or French versions of the Articles, based on the reader's Language Selection.

4. You may also add images into your article at any time.  Using the Image button at the bottom of the Editor section will be much easier for many users, and you are encouraged to do so rather than use the toolbar buttons.  Again, do not worry about formatting of text around the image, prior to publishing the article, the website Administrators will ensure that the Article is formatted for easy reading.

5. Please ensure that you quote any sources in a separate section at the end of the Article.  Many sources will allow display of the original material, provided it is unmodified, and the source is identified in this manner.

Step 3 - Adding the Publisher Information

1. You may select a Section and Category for the Article.  These will be reviewed by the Website Administrators to ensure the Article is categorized and placed properly within the website's organizational structure.

2. Set the Published status to "Yes" when you are sure you have entered the Article as you wish the basic submission of the Article to appear.

3. Show on Front Page - set to "Yes" if this is a News item that you feel should appear as highlighted news on the Front Page of the website when visitors visit the webpage.

4. If you wish, you may enter an "Author Alias", a name that will appear as the Article's Author instead of the name you have associated with your website account.

5. If the Article is time-sensitive, such as an event announcement, you may select a Start Publishing and End Publishing Date.  These are the dates that you wish the Article to begin appearing, and when you wish the Article to finish appearing.

6. Please leave the Access Level as Public.

Step 4 - Entering the Metadata Information

Metadata is information about the Article that the website will use along with the actual Article content, whenever a website visitor selects a Search term, and keywords that will enable search engines such as Google, Windows Live Search, Ask.com, and others, to help narrow down searches done on the internet in general.

1. Enter a Description of the Article.  This should be a one or two sentence summary of the Article's contents. ie: "September is Arthritis Awareness Month.  Many Public Awareness, Advocacy, and Fund Raising Events take place in order to raise Public Awareness of the issues surrounding Arthritis and it's Patients."

2. Enter Keywords or key phrases, separated by commas, that apply to the Article being submitted. ie: "arthritis,awareness,month,september,public awareness,patients"

Step 5 - Review and Save

1. Review the Editor, Publishing, and Metadata Information to ensure all is as you wish it to apply to the Article you are submitting.  Make changes appropriately.

2. Click on the Save button near the top of the page to submit the Article for review and final publishing by the Website Administrators.

3. The Website Administrators will review, and where neccesary, make changes to settings, content, translation, formatting, and anything else they determine may need changes in order to make your Article appear it's best, and organized according to the overall website's framework.

And Finally....Thank You!  Your fellow Members appreciate your efforts in helping to bring news and event announcements to their attention!